NEW YORK—Sitting outside the Eastern Conference's top eight with 20 games remaining, the Rangers need all the points they can get, so their result on Monday night, a 2-1 shootout victory over the Carolina Hurricanes, was most welcome after a three-game losing streak during which they scored a total of two goals in Buffalo, Winnipeg, and Pittsburgh.

Henrik Lundqvist, who made 29 saves in regulation and overtime, then two more in the tiebreaker, called it "definitely a critical game for us." J.T. Miller, the rookie who sealed New York's victory with a snazzy deke-and-roof move on Dan Ellis, said, "Oh, yeah, absolutely," when asked if it was a must-win.

That's a bit of hyperbole. Had the Rangers lost Monday night's shootout, they would have been three points out of a playoff spot with 20 games left instead of two. As it was, Carolina jumped from eighth place in the East to the No. 3 position, taking over the Southeast Division lead by virtue of the consolation point. From that lofty perch came the real analysis of what New York had to do—and did do—results aside.

"The second period, they tried to open up a little bit, and we went along with them," said Hurricanes captain Eric Staal. "Our direct drive and our direct attack just didn't stay through like it did in the first period. ... We played right along with it, and we left our direct game, and they took it to us."

The Hurricanes dominated the first period to the tune of a 24-12 advantage in shot attempts, a 14-6 margin in shots on goal and a 1-0 edge on the scoreboard courtesy of Staal. The rest of the evening, the Rangers outshot their visitors 30-16, with a 63-41 disparity in overall attempts.

That the Rangers only scored one goal was beside the point. What was important on Monday night was that the team that finished first in the East last season and began this campaign among the Stanley Cup favorites finally played up to its billing, with chances aplenty for the "Money Line" of Rick Nash, Brad Richards, and Marian Gaborik. Derek Stepan scored a goal on a second line with Ryan Callahan and Carl Hagelin that proved to be the game's best trio, and a high-energy performance from the third line of Miller, Brian Boyle, and Taylor Pyatt.

It was the Miller-Boyle-Pyatt line that really got things going for the Rangers in the pivotal second period, after an opening 20 minutes that John Tortorella felt was a carryover from the Rangers' disastrous road trip. A strong shift that generated two bona-fide scoring chances finally resulted in Boyle drawing a hooking penalty on Alexander Semin, and although New York did nothing with the power play, the tone had been set at 5-on-5 and eventually paid off with Stepan's goal.

"It's really important to have that line come and create energy, create offense, hold onto pucks, anything to take pressure off our defensemen," Callahan said. "They showed tonight that they can do it, and we knew they could do it. It's a good game by them and they showed they're dangerous down low when they hold on to pucks, especially with the size they have."

While the Rangers' third line created havoc in the Carolina zone with its physicality, the Hurricanes also struggled to find an answer for the offensive exploits of defenseman Michael Del Zotto, who played with a heightened level of confidence and skated as well as anyone on the ice. Del Zotto led the Rangers with five shots on goal among his eight attempts, and made smart decisions on when to join the attack, something that has bedeviled the 22-year-old at times in his NHL career.

"I played with (Steve Eminger) most of the game, and he knows I'm going to join (in the offense)," Del Zotto said. "We have good chemistry—good friends on and off the ice. He knows when I'm going to be jumping, where I'm going to be. There's been a couple of times the past few games when he's bailed me out, and he's done a good job helping me."

Del Zotto was a little frustrated that none of his shots turned into his first goal since Jan. 29, and Tortorella echoed the sentiment, saying, "I'd just like to see something go in for him, or the pass that he does make creates a goal."

If he keeps playing like he did Monday, the points will come.

Along the same lines, if the Rangers can muster 75 shot attempts in a game, on most nights they'll score more than one. They managed to get a win they and their fans desperately wanted on Monday night. How they got it should inspire more confidence than the mere fact that they got it.